Mapping The Downfall

Fascinating ruins are surrounding us! All over our cities and outside, symbolic decadent buildings are taken as case studies to talk about an era. The picture of Villa Savoye taken before its renovation marks the end of the modern movement long before its international recognition, due to the misunderstandings and the lack of interest towards the “machines for living” it was creating.

Decline of iconic buildings are phases we should accept towards a deep renovation and change of paradigms in style and that is the point of mapping ruins of buildings recognized as contemporary, as a group of Spanish architects is ambitiously doing since almost a year.

Even if the downfall may be due to lack of maintenance because of crisis, we can not underestimate the strength of this phase on what have been considered powerful and ambitious projects at the time of their realization. And that is why Ruinas Contemporaneas (Contemporary Ruins) is important for us to realize that crisis means change first.

Initially focused on Spain, the project is now gradually expanding to other countries, thanks to contributors who are sending material in regard to their nearby decaying buildings. Over the remains of the international movement the postmodern was born, to what will give birth our contemporary ruins?